The Kitty and the Puppeteer
by just like our last
Summary: I always forget to tell you I love you... I love you forever.


**Authors Note: It helps to listen to **_**Superman**_** by Taylor Swift on loop while reading this. It also helps to listen to that song on loop when you're feeling down. It instantly perks me up. It's a very peppy song. c:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious. Can't think of any witty way to phrase that right now.**

His eyes clouded with jealousy and anger as he stood at the edge of the group of six friends, joined today by a seventh, and watched the tall, tan, muscular senior put his arm around his little Kitty's shoulder. _His_ little Kitty, that he cared so deeply for, that deserved better than some popular senior that was completely full of himself. _His_ little Kitty, that he wanted nothing more than to hold and kiss her forehead and cradle her precious innocence and never let her go. His little Kitty.

He listened half-heartedly as she introduced this senior as her new boyfriend, Mark, who Robbie knew due to the fact that they shared a few classes, but had never had any reason to particularly dislike up until now. Cat informed them excitedly that Mark had taken her out to dinner the previous Friday, and tucked her hair behind her ear as she gleefully offered the fact that the last time she had been out to dinner with her family, her brother had stabbed the waitress with a fork. This resulted in winces from everyone in the group except Jade, who dully declared the fact that she'd like to stab Tori with a fork. As Robbie listened to a pointless argument start between the two at Tori's reaction, he muttered something about having to take Rex to the bathroom and left the group, his head hung low.

Rex spent the next few weeks trying to convince Robbie that Cat deserved a man, not a boy, and though Robbie argued half-heartedly with his puppet, he knew that Rex was right. Cat would never want him when she could have a popular, muscular, good-looking senior like Mark. Still, he thought, if Mark set one toe out of line, if Mark did even the smallest thing to upset his precious Kitty, that would be the end of Mark. Cat may have deserved better than him, Cat may have wanted someone that wasn't a weirdo that talked to a puppet, but Robbie still loved Cat, no matter what. And so he tried to let it be, watching jealously as Cat held Mark's hand, as Mark wrapped his arm around her waist and tucked her hair behind her ear for her and smiled at her and kissed her. And yet, regardless how happy Cat seemed, Robbie couldn't help but mistrust Mark, and he knew it wasn't just jealousy. Yes, he admitted that he was a bit jealous of the fact that Mark got to hold and kiss and love his little Kitty, but beyond that, there was something about the look in Mark's eyes when he looked at Cat. When he smiled at her, it wasn't a genuine smile. There was something behind it, a dark purpose that Robbie couldn't quite put his finger on. Yet he knew he could not trust Mark; no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he was just jealous, he knew there was something more.

Soon enough later, Cat seemed to have noticed the same thing Robbie had, though none of their other friends had seemed to notice. She started pushing Mark's arm off of her occasionally when he would try to pull her close, leaning away quickly after he kissed her, and little things like that, a nervous look playing on her innocent face all the while. This worried Robbie, who was determined to protect his little Kitty, regardless of how much stronger than him physically Mark clearly was. He wasn't about to let Mark hurt her. Yet still he remained his distance, knowing that there was nothing he could do, and that he didn't want to sabotage their relationship at fear of hurting Cat. He could only hope that things would get better between the pair, or that if they broke up, it would be emotionally painless towards Cat; he wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. But something told him that they would break up, and when they broke up, it wouldn't be painless. And it would be his job, he knew, to make sure that in the end it was as painless as possible. He wasn't about to let Cat suffer.

Waiting patiently and worriedly, he argued with Rex about his thoughts on the situation every time he was alone with his puppet, which had proven to be quite often, considering he took Rex almost everywhere. Rex was convinced that he was just jealous, and that Cat and her boyfriend were perfectly happy together, and that Cat didn't need him, while he argued with evidence of the strange, dark look in Mark's eyes and the nervous gestures and looks that Cat gave her boyfriend. But, as usual, Rex didn't agree with him, and he had no choice but to wait it out to prove his point.

And prove his point he did. Just after lunch one day, Robbie had just come from his locker and was now on his way to Sikowitz's class, without Rex, which was a rarity; for some reason, he had decided to stuff the puppet in his locker for the afternoon. He walked down the hallway and passed the janitor's closet as he did every time he went to Sikowitz's class, but this time he heard a sniffled sob come from inside it. Pausing, he turned and stepped curiously towards the door of the closet, peering inside the little rectangular window. He gasped with surprise at what he saw inside: a little redhead wearing bright, girly clothes, unmistakably his little Kitty, even though he could not see her face because it was tucked down and resting on her knees as she hugged her knees to her chest, shaking with sobs.

Immediately Robbie dropped his backpack down on the floor next to the closet and tried the door. Surprisingly enough, it was open. He had expected her to have locked it, but at the same time, he was very glad she hadn't. He stepped inside quietly, and Cat didn't look up until she heard him close the door and realized that she was no longer alone in the closet.

She looked up at him with wide, watery brown eyes, blinking with surprise when she saw who it was. "Robbie, go away!" She pleaded sadly, burying her face again quickly. He sighed softly, sitting down next to her.

"Cat, what's wrong?" He asked, already knowing the answer had something to do with Mark. He had been right; Mark had hurt his little Kitty. Mark had made her cry. And now he had to do his part and make things right as best he could. He had to be there for her.

"I was used, okay? I'm an idiot, Robbie!" She declared in a sad, muffled voice, sobbing harder still into her knees.

"No, no..." Robbie soothed, reaching forward his hand to lightly touch Cat's shoulder. She jumped away at his touch, however, and looked up at him again. "You're not an idiot. Trust me, Cat. What did he do?"

"He tried to t-touch me in private p-places and he w-wanted me to g-go home with him... H-he tried to p-pull me into his c-car... Tried to force m-me to..." She couldn't finish, erupting into sobs, tears flowing freely down her face, which she quickly buried again.

"No!" Robbie gasped. "Oh, Cat. He didn't hurt you, though, did he?" He asked, determined to make sure that Cat was alright physically at least.

"N-no, I k-kicked him in the stomach, thanks to T-trina. She taught me some karate moves last time I was over at her and T-tori's place... One time, we were at the h-hospital, and me and Trina w-went to visit this guy that had bronchitis, a-and Trina actually got b-bronchitis from it," Cat sobbed out. Robbie couldn't help but smile slightly; even hurt and heartbroken, her thoughts still worked at random, connecting the strangest things together in her mind.

"Cat, it's gonna be okay. He didn't hurt you; you're gonna be okay. You did the right thing, getting away from him," Robbie insisted gently, mentally reminding himself to thank Trina later.

Cat sniffled. "B-but... I was so stupid for thinking that he actually liked me... I c-couldn't see it coming..." Robbie shook his head, reaching forward to wrap an arm around her shoulder. This time, she let him.

"Shh, shh..." He soothed, gently rubbing her back. "It's alright, Cat. You didn't do anything wrong. It's not your fault he did that to you. He shouldn't have done it, but it's not your fault. You don't deserve that."

Cat sniffled, lifting her head slightly to meet his gaze again. "Y-you don't think I'm stupid for n-not noticing?"

"Cat, did any of our friends notice?" Robbie asked, reminding himself that he had, in fact, noticed, even though Rex had tried to convince him that it was just jealousy. Still, if any of the others had noticed that there was something untrustworthy about Mark, they would have told Cat, but they hadn't. So if no one besides Robbie had noticed, it wasn't Cat's fault. It was simply something that could only be seen by someone that truly loved her the way she deserved to be loved, that could look past the eyes of those that pretended to love her.

"N-no..." Cat replied softly.

"Then there's no way you could have. It's not your fault, Cat. He was just a jerk, and you deserve better. You don't need to waste your time crying over someone like him," Robbie insisted. "He's not worth it. I..."_ love you_. But he cut himself off, knowing that she was not ready for him to confess the way he felt so soon after what happened with Mark. He would wait for her.

Cat blinked, sniffling again and snuggling closer to Robbie, who responded by wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a hug, her back to his chest as she buried her face in her knees once again.

She was his little Kitty, and he was determined to make sure that he was always there to pick up the pieces of her broken heart, and protect her from anyone that dared try to hurt her.

The fair was in town the following week, as Cat had made sure to inform them at least twenty times, trying to convince them that it would be fantastic if they all went together. And so they met at the entrance to the fair that Friday night, Cat giggling with excited triumph as Robbie watched her out of the corner of his eye, relieved to see that she was still as carefree and innocent as ever, and that her grief over what Mark had done seemed to have faded away. Jade mumbled something about plans to push Tori off of a ride as Tori and Trina argued about whether or not Trina could tag along with their group, and finally gave in, as long as Trina promised not to hit on every hot guy she saw.

The night passed surprisingly quickly, Cat practically dragging the rest of them around, giggling and occasionally pulling whoever was closest to her by the wrist towards the next ride, forcing the others to follow. When it was Jade who Cat decided to pull, almost halfway across the park all the way to the Ferris wheel this time, the little redhead earned several vindictive looks from the Goth girl behind her back.

Trina checked the time on her phone, informing them that it was getting late and that she needed her beauty sleep, and reminding Tori that she was Tori's only ride home. Reluctantly, Tori agreed that it was getting a bit late anyway, and so they all agreed that the Ferris wheel would be there last ride. It seemed like a calm, peaceful enough way to end the night.

Since it was two people to a seat, they split off into pairs. Jade instantly claimed Beck, grabbing his arm and narrowing her eyes seductively at Tori, who just blinked and decided to ride with Andre. Trina, who decided she didn't want to waste any time, told us she was going to the bathroom and would meet us at the entrance after, hurried off, leaving Cat and Robbie to pair together. Shrugging, Robbie smiled weakly at her, and she giggled.

"We're riding the Ferris wheel! Yay!" Cat squealed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, jumping up and down excitedly beside him as they waited in line.

When it was finally Cat and Robbie's turn to get into a seat, Cat jumped up instantly, her face bright and eager. "The last time I rode a Ferris wheel, my brother fell out of his seat when we were all the way at the top!" She giggled, and Robbie raised an eyebrow, but didn't ask. She continued talking the whole time they loaded people up, and then, when they stopped at the very top, looked down.

"Robbie, look," She breathed. "Beck and Jade are way down there! And there's Tori and Andre!" She waved at Tori, who waved back from her place a few seats below, smiling and nudging Andre, who also looked up and waved. This pleased Cat, who grabbed Robbie's arm in excitement.

Robbie jumped slightly at her touch, and blinked with surprise as she caught his eyes with her's, both suddenly growing more serious as they seemed to lose themselves for a moment in each other's eyes.

"You're beautiful," He declared, though he was not sure what compelled him to do so. It must have been the way her eyes, her hair, her entire being seemed to sparkle under the lights of the fair around them and the stars above them, making every flawless feature of her beauty visible. She blushed and ducked her head slightly, smiling up at him.

"Robbie, I never properly thanked you... For being there for me, I mean. After what happened with Mark," Cat said suddenly. Robbie could tell by the look on her face that it pained her to even speak the name of her ex-boyfriend, the one that had hurt her so terribly, and had tried to take so much from her.

Robbie just smiled. "Of course. What kind of friend would I be to not be there for you when you needed me?" He smiled, closing his eyes briefly at the sound of the word. _Friend_. If only she knew he wanted to be so much more.

Cat smiled. "Well, thanks. Really." She looked away for a moment, biting her lip and giving her adorable 'thinking' face, clearly mentally debating something. Opening her mouth, she sang out softly the words from a song Robbie had heard a couple times before, "I always forget to tell you I love you... I loved you from the very first day." Blushing, she quickly turned away from him, looking at her lap.

Before they realized what was happening, both of them leaned forward slowly, eyes closing, and their lips met in a soft, passionate kiss, their hearts soaring.

As they pulled away, she blushed and leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder, lacing her finger's through his. Together, they remained.


End file.
